July 7, 2015 — There aren’t many foods more closely associated with Maine than the lobster.
So it’s pretty scary that this valued American crustacean could one day soon become a Canadian treasure — a change that could have a devastating impact on Maine’s local economy.
The problem is, lobsters like cold water. And oceans are warming, especially in New England.
The waters in the Gulf of Maine, specifically, are warming 99% faster than the rest of the world’s oceans.
And as a result, lobsters are moving north toward colder climates.
Over the last decade, southern lobster fisheries along Long Island and Connecticut have already seen their catches drop due to lobsters moving north into Maine, which hauled record catches during the same time period, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Maine lobsters have already moved north about 43 miles per decade between 1968 and 2008, according to a 2013 study.